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On Spoilers, Plot Twists, and Audience Entitlement

This is a rant about Game of Thrones, but probably not for the reason you expect. Spoilers will follow.

There’s been a lot of controversy surrounding whether Jon Snow lives or dies. That question was finally answered in last Sunday’s episode after over a year of buildup. Congrats, fans, he’s still alive. This was enough to piss people off.

I’m sure there are plenty of fans of the show who didn’t like Jon and wanted to see him offed. I’m sure that scene in last season’s finale was satisfying for them, and the latest episode was a letdown. I get that. This post isn’t really about those fans though.

There are the fans who listened to producers when they insisted Jon was dead and would stay dead. They kept an eye on the set to see if Jon would be there. They actively sought out spoilers for the show and got angry when they found they were deceived. I remember comments from randoms on Facebook, outraged that the producers “lied right to our faces.” Now Kit Harington is apologizing to fans for his part in the deception.

Wait, what?

This is a fandom that simultaneously frowns upon spoilers and demands them from the showrunners. How does this make sense? Why should the cast and crew from a TV show tell you what’s going to happen in the next season before it airs? Why should they apologize for not ruining the suspense they were trying to create?

This is like GRRM’s fans bitching at him to put out books because audience interest constitutes a contract. The showrunners may make a living off of entertainment, but that doesn’t make them subject to your whims and demands.